In 1920 he was offered a position at Harvard University, in substitution of Harold Laski. At Harvarard Abbott became the Francis Lee Higginson Professor of History. There he also became a stock-holder in the Harvard Cooperative Society, and an Associate of Lowell House.[3]

Around 1930 Abbott visited Finland, where The Harvard Crimson recounts "the Professor landed in Finland only to discover that he was something of a national figure. He was feted; he was invited to important function; his picture was printed in the papers. Professor Abbott has always been fond of Finland"[3]

Essays in Modern English History in Honor of Wilbur Cortez Abbott, Harvard University Press, 1941

^Kemble, John H. (1975). "Chapter one: Maritime History in the Age of Albion". In Labaree, Benjamin W. The Atlantic World of Robert G. Albion (First ed.). Middletown, Connecticut: Wesleyan University Press. ISBN0819540854. OCLC1848958.